IF you don’t have a boat but still want to chase barramundi and other species of the Top End, don’t be concerned. Landbased fishing is quite good for many of these species.
A barramundi calendar / clock can be something like this. It’s 12 o’clock and now is the time to fish off the rocks and headlands in a marine environment, while at 3 o’clock it’s around the run-off and barra can be caught in drains in the middle of a city like Darwin.
Culvert fishing in the Territory has a cult following! Six o’clock can see fish push up into the fresh water streams and present many opportunities for landbased anglers . At 9 o’clock, fish are moving into estuaries slowly working towards the marine environment.
HOW DO YOU FIND LOCATIONS TO FISH?
Research leaves less to good luck. Google Earth is useful. Find the location you want to fish and look for access points, National Parks, Conservation Reserves and other public access points.
While on Google Earth look for fish holding structure such as rock bars and gorges that can be filled with fish. Look for access tracks into those spots.
Private property is a hard one but there are plenty of properties that offer paid camping sites on some of our best Top End rivers.
Many aboriginal land can be accessed through the purchase of a permit through the appropriate Land Council Office.
My favourite is those little known private properties that have little if any fishing pressure.
HOW TO GAIN ACCESS?
Again, this is a tough one. Whether you roll up to the station door and request permission to fish on their land or ask for permission by phone or email your chances are slim. Most station owners have signs adorning their gates with no fishing no hunting signs.
If you can offer a station owner or manager a swap of labour or services for a few days fishing then you have a tradable item.
Nearly every station is in need of some electrical repair, building maintenance, mechanical repair or possibly labour to help with cattle work and an offer to swap a few days work for a few days fishing is now very appealing to those in charge. Traditional Owners or TOs as they are known can be one of your best contacts.
If you are cordially and received well by the TOs then a world of opportunities can open to you regarding access to land under their control. Be prepared to put on your boots and walk a few kms into those rock gorges you found on Google Earth. Those few kilometres spent walking away from the crowds can pay big dividends!
GEAR CHOICES
I have pretty much settled on the easily packable travel rods for my hiking and land based exploring.
I fish a mix of lure and fly and use the Okuma Cerros spin rods in medium and medium light along with Okuma Cerros spin reels. My bait caster is the Okuma Komodo and the rod is a Berkley Nomadic five piece rod that I have dragged around the country with me for years.
A Vision DownUnder 4 piece Native Series fly rod is easily packed into remote locations. I carry a floating and intermediate line for most of my fly fishing.
It’s also worth having a couple of long spin rods for those estuaries and rocky head lands as well as for fishing off the beaches. Long rods give better leverage and can help you throw a lure a great distance.
SPECIES
Species include barramundi, grunter, different species of salmon, but the prize here is threadfin, plus queenfish, trevally, longtom, mangrove jack, cod, groper, saratoga, ox eye herring, jungle perch, catfish, archer fish, bream and more, The list is endless even for the land based anglers.
SAFETY
If there are naturally occurring barramundi In the water you are fishing then the falsely named saltwater crocodile can also be in residence, even if you are hundred of kilometres inland in freshwater. One river that comes to mid is The Mitchell River on Cape York.
Treat these reptiles with respect! Don’t go into the water or stand close to the water.
When walking along the banks, scan far ahead looking for crocodiles up on the bank warming their bodies, especially during their winter/dry season. To get caught between a croc on top of the bank and the water can be a very dangerous situation.
Thousands of anglers are exposed to crocodiles every year and there are very few incidents that make the news and the majority of ones that do make the news are mostly the fault of people.
Lastly, if things do go pear shape when you’re far from civilisation then it’s important to have some form of satellite communications, be it a EPIRB/ PLB or satellite phone. I have settled on the Garmin inReach Explorer with the capability of sending text messages as well as the emergency SOS button as well as being water proof to a certain depth!
